The death toll keeps rising after an earthquake measuring from 6.1 to 6.5, according to different estimates, hit China’s southwestern Yunnan province. The latest number of dead is nearing 600 while the number of injured is over 2,400 people.
06 August 2014
At least 589 people have died in an earthquake that devastated a Chinese village, officials said on Wednesday, marking a sharp increase in the death toll.
"As of 10.30 on Wednesday... 589 people have died" after Sunday's magnitude 6.1 tremor in the southwestern province of Yunnan, China's ministry of civil affairs said on its website.
(AFP)
04 August 2014
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang walks over 3 miles on foot to arrive in worst-hit village after Yunnan quake killed 381 pic.twitter.com/FJeU3Zw71Y
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 4, 2014
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Zhaotong, Yunnan province, after a powerful earthquake rattled the southwestern city on Sunday.
He pledged a "door-to-door" search would continue for at least two days to treat the injured and locate the missing.
"We have to grab every opportunity of rescue to reduce the casualty… We must put people's lives first," Li said.
U.S. says ready to help China in relief efforts as quake in Yunnan province kills at least 381 pic.twitter.com/5DQxgpndEW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 4, 2014
Blocked roads, downpur are hindering rescue after quake killed at least 381 in SW China http://t.co/p52WwNUpyZpic.twitter.com/UOZ0j3YeN8
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 4, 2014
Update: Death toll from China quake rises to 381, Premier Li Keqiang on his way to quake zone pic.twitter.com/iNgXqBFKkW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 4, 2014
At least 381 people have been killed as of 8:40 a.m. Monday after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled China's Yunnan Province
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 4, 2014
The overall death toll in China earthquake has reached 379, BNO News reports citing local authorities.
The majority of the dead were from Ludian County, which Chinese state television said was at the epicenter of the quake. Ludian authorities said at least 296 people were killed in their jurisdiction. The quake also caused serious damage in Qiaojia County, where another 60 people were killed according to China’s Civil Affairs Ministry. Ten more people reportedly died in Huize County.
03 August 2014
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the world body stands ready to help respond to any humanitarian needs created by the earthquake.
“He offers his condolences to the Chinese government and the families of those killed, and his deepest sympathies to those who were injured or otherwise affected in this disaster,” the statement, released by his office adds.
The United States offered “sincere condolences” to family of victims of the earthquake in southwestern China, White House National Security Council Deputy Spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that lost their lives, those injured or displaced, and all the people of China on this difficult day,” she said. “US disaster response officials are in contact with their Chinese counterparts. The United States stands ready to assist.”
#UNSG saddened by loss of life in #China earthquake, #UN ready to lend assistance http://t.co/1iCpsjsVBr
— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) August 3, 2014
China quake death toll rises to 367, about 1,900 injured, according to state media reports.
#Breaking: Death toll rises to 357 from #China#quake
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 3, 2014
About 12,000 homes collapsed in Ludian county, where some 429,000 people live and that is located around 366 kilometers (277 miles) northeast of Yunnan's capital, Kunming.
"The aftermath is much, much worse than what happened after the quake two years ago," Ma Liya, a resident of Zhaotong tells Xinhua. "I have never felt such strong tremors before. What I can see are all ruins."
More than 2,500 troops have been sent to quake zone to help in the rescue. The civil affairs authorities has sent 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the quake region. AP reports that the Red Cross Society of China allocated quilts, jackets and tents for those made homeless by the quake, while Red Cross branches in Hong Kong, Macau and neighboring Sichuan province also sent relief supplies.
At least 175 people were killed and 1,400 injured in the earthquake, state media reports.
Video: At least 150 people are killed and 180 missing in SW China #earthquakehttp://t.co/FVlVfH1T0B
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 3, 2014
At least 120 of the dead were from Ludian county, which Chinese state television said was at the epicenter of the quake.
Another 1,300 people also from the county have been injured and 180 remain missing, Yunnan's information bureau reported.
UPDATE: At least 150 people are killed and 180 missing in SW China earthquake http://t.co/Jgi0Mltwsp
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 3, 2014
"I felt a strong jolt on my fifth-floor home and some small objects in my home fell off the shelves," a resident in the county seat of Ludian told Xinhua.
The civil authorities have sent 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the quake region.
In 1970, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Yunnan killed at least 15,000 people, and a magnitude-7.1 quake in the province killed more than 1,400 in 1974, AP reports. The last series of quakes in the Yunnan region in September 2012 killed 81 people and left 821 injured.
云南昭通6.5级地震已致26人遇难 有小学生被埋 #云南鲁甸县6.5级地震#【地震已致巧家26人遇难 沙坝村小学有学生被埋！】今 http://t.co/QS9xX40vFXpic.twitter.com/KB7fDBZ8fE
— 中文焦点新闻 (@cnfocus) August 3, 2014
Chinese state media said tremors were felt in Yunnan’s neighboring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.
Local media is reporting that a school was reduced to rubble, among other buildings that were destroyed by the earthquake.
Yunnan’s seismological bureau has said that the earthquake is the strongest that has hit the province in 14 years, independent website Earth-Quake Report said. Yunnan is one of the most earthquake-sensitive provinces in China.
The quake toppled and cracked apart buildings, forcing people to rush into the streets, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. The administration of the affected Yunnan province sent a 30-member team to the quake's epicenter.
#Earthquake#China - The first pictures are coming in and they look grim - http://t.co/nSpX370Ibgpic.twitter.com/joH3vKIVJJ
— Earthquake Report (@ShakingEarth) August 3, 2014
At least 26 people were killed and 79 injured after an earthquake measuring from 6.1 to 6.5, according to different estimates, hit southwest China.
The quake struck 11 kilometers west-northwest of the town of Wenping at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers.
The US Geological Survey has estimated the quake at 6.1 on the Richter scale, while previously reporting the strikes measuring 6.3. At the same time, the China Earthquake Networks Center said the magnitude of the quake was 6.5.